Either way, the Giants aren't waiting with baited breath to find out if Elliott will score a short-term victory over his suspension and be eligible for the season opener. They don't seem to care much, either.

"Listen, our focus is on preparing for Dallas," head coach Ben McAdoo said. "All backs run the same when there's nowhere to run. Our goal is to do our job and be prepared to stop the run. If he's playing, great. If he's not, then that's great."

Elliott is currently scheduled to miss Sunday's game, and the Cowboys' next five after that, due to a six-game ban for violating the NFL personal conduct policy after a lengthy league investigation into domestic violence allegations.

Appeals officer Harold Henderson, or, more likely, a judge in the Eastern District Court of Texas (or wherever else the NFL-NFLPA legal war moves) could change that. The Giants aren't sweating the ins and outs of the growing mess though.

"As a competitor, you want Zeke to play. You want to beat anyone at their best," defensive tackle Jay Bromley said. "That's in you to do that when you're competitive. But you take whatever is put in front of you.

"There's a lot going on, but honestly, man, I'm not really going to pay attention on hands and feet. I'm pretty sure the coaching staff will let us know throughout the course of the week what's going on. And whoever they out in front of us, we look forward to the challenge of going out there and stopping them."

That's why they have downplayed the Elliott question from the start, and are adamant his presence will have little impact on their game plan.

"Both of those guys are more than capable," Bromley said.

McFadden and Morris have 139 starts and five 1,000-yard seasons between them in 14 combined years.

McFadden rumbled for 152 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in a 27-20 Dallas loss to the Giants in October of 2015. Morris had a pair of 120-plus yard games against the Giants in 2012 with the Redskins, and has averaged 4.33 yards-per-carry against them in his career.

Bromley said it's a simple setup for the Giants: Prepare for "one of the best, if not the best back in the league last year," and go from there.

"That's the approach every single week, for every single team in this league. If you stop the run, you heighten your chances of defeating that ball club."